MANICKAM YOGESWARAN

Career history

Yogeswaran is a Sri Lanka-born, Tamil musician and teacher—now based in England—who has worked in a variety of musical, dance and multimedia contexts. His contribution to, and promotion of Tamil music and ragam has been outstanding. Since debuting as a singer in Sri Lanka in 1978, he has sung Tamil and Carnatic music in devotional and concert settings as a soloist and in such ensembles as the Tamil Classic Band. Apart from singing and recording in a variety of traditional contexts—recordings include Exil’s Tamil Classics (1997)—he championed Tamil as featured vocalist in a variety of multi-cultural music ensembles including Germany’s highly toasted Dissidenten and England’s Jocelyn Pook Ensemble and the predominantly western classical ‘big voice band’ The Shout under the direction of composers Richard Chew and Orlando Gough. He may be heard on Dissidenten’s Instinctive Traveler (1997) and Live in Europe (1998), Jocelyn Pook’s Deluge (1998) and The Shout’s Tall Stories (1999). As featured vocalist with Dissidenten since 1994, he has appeared at major European music gatherings such as the Montreaux Jazz Festival, Jazzopen Stuttgart, the Tanz&FolkFest Rudolstadt (Germany’s largest world music festival) and the Glastonbury Festival (Europe’s largest music festival. As featured vocalist with The Shout he has appeared at the Vienna festival and the New Haven festival of Arts and Ideas in the USA. He was specially featured, London’s SPITALFIELDS festival on their 25th year celebration in June 2001 and in June 2003.

Yogeswaran is the founder and Director of the London-based Globe Music campus formally known as Asian School of Arts (ASA). The School specialises in South Indian vocal and instrumental music. A number of students’ Arangetrams (debut performances) have already been staged. The GMC provides a venue for the younger generation to express their skills and talents alongside teachers and musicians from all over London. Since 1985 it has organised music festivals providing students and teachers with both a platform for performing and opportunities to gain experience of performing before audiences. It is part of an informal network staging monthly music concerts enabling music lovers to hear local and Indian musicians of all levels. In that series of programmes the ASA hosted a seven-day lecture on the epic Mahabharata by the distinguished academic Pulavar Keeran of Chennai. In 1996 Yogeswaran was appointed visiting lecturer in Indian music at Goldsmith’s University in London.

Internationally, he has performed as featured vocalist and accompanist for a variety of Bharata Natyam dance performances and with Shobana Jeyasingh’s internationally acclaimed, South Asian dance troupe in works such as Duets with Automobiles, Romance with Footnotes and Making of Maps.

Career accomplishments

Yogeswaran has introduced Tamil culture to unprecedented numbers of people through his singing, music-making, composing and contributions to other art forms. Historically, he was the first Tamil vocalist ever to sing in a major Hollywood film as part of music director Jocelyn Pook’s soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick’s last film Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

As a composer-performer Yogaswaran’s compositions have been televised across Europe. These include the television documentary Serendipity (1990) and Jazzopen broadcasts and as featured vocalist for Orlando Gough’s Duets with Automobiles (1994) and Glen Perin’s Romance with Footnotes (1995). This summer, Yogaswaran is taking part in Dissidenten’s Donaureise (‘Danube Journey’). This is a highly ambitious multi-cultural, multi-national and multimedia concert series beginning where the Danube empties into the Black Sea and finishing at the Black Forest source of one of Europe’s greatest rivers. The German SWR channel will televise and webcast this journey.

In 1998 Yogeswaran sang and recorded the Saint Thiruvalluvar’s aphoristic Thirukkural set to 133 ragams. The CD received its official released at the International Movement for Tamil Culture’s World Thirukkural Conference in Toronto in 1998 (where Yogeswaran was felicitated with the title ‘Isai Vallal’). In January 2000 in Tamil Nadu Yogaswaran attended the ‘unveiling’ ceremony of saint’s statue—symbolically 133 feet high, a foot for every chapter—as one of the ceremony’s distinguished guests alongside the event’s host, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Kalaingar Dr. M. Karunanidhi. The same month he performed Thirukkural at the World Thirukkural conference, organised by the Tamil Nadu Thirukkural Peravai at Thirichirapalli. This ambitious musical setting was the first of this kind and generated enormous interest and honour for the singer from all corners of the Tamil-speaking world.

Yogeswaran has recorded his latest album dedicated to peace in Sri Lanka. A cross-cultural music set up, propagating peace for the Island’s 20 years war. The CD will be realised in the very near future. In latest development in his career, he has recorded for the Hollywood Movie, Spike Lee’s “25th Hour” for the sound track of Terrence Blanchard. (October 2002). In short Yogaswaran makes music made for travelling far and wide, for transcending boundaries and uniting cultures.

Community service and organisations affiliated with

Yogeswaran has put his skills and experience to teaching and promoting Tamil culture, music and the language itself at a number of expatriate Tamil organisations including the London Tamil school, the Bharathiyar Tamil School, the London Sri Murugan Temple and Thiruvalluvar Tamil School. He has made many CD’s of Tamil devotional music, the proceeds from which benefit the temple in Southwest London. He believes in the importance of education and spreading awareness of Tamil culture throughout the world.

On an international level in November 1995 he sang with Dissidenten at the major fund-raising festival for Amnesty International in Berlin, attended by Bob Geldof.

Awards, distinctions and honours received

1982—Gold medallion presented by Mrs, Arumugam at the Bharathiyar
             Vizha at Ariyalai Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
1985—“Isaimaamani” by London Sri Murugan Temple, England
1990—“Sura Naya Devan” by the Oslo Music Association, Norway
1991—Citation by Thirumuruka Kripanantha Vaariyar
1993—Gold Medallion presented by Kalai Koil in Paris, France
1996—“Tamil Isai Ezhavarasu” by International Institute for Research in
              Tamil Music, Chennai, India
1998—“Isai Vallal” by International Movement for Tamil Culture,
              Toronto, Canada.
2000—“Isai Thamil Maamani” by Pannatu Thamil Uravu Mantram,
              Chennai, India.
2002- Gold medallion presented by the London Sri Muthu Maari Amman Koil.
2003 – Best Artist of the Year by International Refugees Organisation London
2004 – Felicitation by Dr Balamuralikrishna in Hydrabad Silparamam concert.
2004 Felicitation by his Guru at the festival in Chennai.

Press Reviews

‘The measured scat-singing of Manickam “Yogi” Yogeswaran who shone all night’ Review Paul Bradshaw on Jocelyn Pook concert at Nottingham Lakeside Arts Centre 06th April 2005

For Yogeswaran’s flight of imagination there was only his own peace, a South Indian Ave Maria using the chorus for drawn. It was a high point. The Shout Christmas Show – Gurdian review by Robert Maycock 03 January 2005.

Singer Yogeswaran steadfastly maintains dexterous art and gets on silently
Puthinam London April 2003.

“The Soaring vocal talent of Manickam Yogeswaran” Review by The Gardian Friday March 16 2001 London, followed the concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the Hollywood music director Jocelyn Pook .

Manickam Yogeswaran - A singer in the Indian classical tradition, a great improviser and someone who brings a completely different approach to intonation. Review by Singer Magazine- on The Shout Review. October/November 2001.

Bringing the evening to a dramatic close with the solo voice of The Shout's Manickam Yogeswaran. Review by The Guardian Monday April 2 2001, London.

The First Tamil Voice in Hollywood. History has made for the Tamils by Yogeswaran. PUTHINAM - TAMIL Newspaper, London October 1999.

The London Based Manickam Yogeswaran who is a disciple of Sri. T.V. Gopalkrishnan is doing admirable service in England to foster Carnatic Music with a skilful modulation of his soft and malleable voice and use of suitable syllables. He generated gamakas of various hues in all the octaves and on occasions he appeared to chirp in the highest octave in the manner of a senior vocalist of the day. The Hindu December 31st 1999.

Tamil Singer, Manickam Yogeswaran who pleased the audience with his band “Tamil Classics” gets involved in existing musical duels with Black Beauty Izaline Calister and Morroccan Bird of Paradise Nojoum Ovazza. The playful competition of “ALLAH” and “KRISHNA” invocation is one of the best moments of this evening - Review by FABIAN ELSÄSSER - Translated by Elke Hess, Germany ’98

His voice rings as two Thamburas plugged together and travels Three Octaves effortlessly and brings out high music emotions. VIGADAN, MADRAS DAILY 26.12.97 (Review by SUBBUDU)

Golden voice with vast range. PUTHIYA PARVAI, JANUARY ‘96. (Review by SUBBUDU)

His majestic and pleasing voice in that pleasant evening made the festival a memorable one. MUSIC BULLETIN, MADRAS.

M. Yogeswaran has definitely come a long way now. He is on the International Music Circuit. ADYAR TIMES, MADRAS, JANUARY 22-28, 1995.

Manickam Yogeswaran has an enviable voice full of strength and capable of good articulation, who can equal the standard of raising stars in the field.
THE HINDU, JANUARY 6, 1995.

Singer Yogeswaran whose voice painted the sound and made the music more important than the meaning of words. GUTERSLOHER KULTUR, OCTOBER 8, 1994. GERMANY